Pete and Linda Coe couldn’t have been more nervous if it was their own son trying to win the Farmers Insurance Open.
At home in Olivenhain on Sunday afternoon, they didn’t leave the television as Australian Marc Leishman charged early and made some excellent pars late to shoot 7-under-par 65 on the Torrey Pines South Course and capture his first Farmers title.
“I was so wound up today,” Pete Coe said.
Pete and Linda Coe were fixtures for more than three decades at La Jolla Country Club, where Pete was the head pro. They and son Bucky also hosted in their home Junior World Championship competitors, and in 2001 that boy was a lanky 17-year-old who left his parents at home on his first trip outside his country.
The Coes and Leishman have remained friends ever since, with the golfer annually ing them for dinner sometime during the tournament.
“Tacos,” Linda said. “Marc loves tacos.”
They shared Leishman’s disappointment in his two runner-up finishes at Torrey, as well as his playoff loss in the 2015 British Open at St. Andrews. And they were thrilled to see him finally prevail in the Farmers in his 12th start here.
The Coes have always appreciated Leishman’s friendly and humble nature as he rose in the golf world, making Presidents Cup teams and now owning five PGA Tour wins and 10 victories worldwide.
“He really hasn’t changed since he was 17,” Pete Coe said. “He’s one of those guys who has never been affected by all of the clutter.”
From Leishman’s first visit for Junior World, Pete Coe recalled taking him to Titleist in Carlsbad to have the boy truly fit for clubs for the first time. On the flight back to Australia, the clubs were lost and Coe said Leishman was “devastated.”
Coe got on the phone to Titleist, and Leishman had new clubs within a week.
Pete and Linda went out to the Farmers for two rounds this year to follow Leishman, and they were supposed to have dinner with him on Saturday night. However, Pete, not wanting to distract Leishman as he entered the final round four shots off the lead, suggested they wait until Sunday night.
With a grin, Leishman said at his champion’s news conference, “That’s probably going to be postponed.”
Woods ties for ninth
Tiger Woods looked like he might make the shot of the day on the second hole when his approach from 141 yards two-hopped its way into the hole.
One problem: It didn’t stay in, with the ball fully disappearing into the cup before bouncing out, leaving Woods to settle for birdie instead of bogey.
With another birdie at 6, Woods closed in on the lead, but he managed only a 1-under 35 on the back nine to score 70 and finish tied for ninth at 9 under — six shots off the winning total of Leishman.
It was Woods’ 13th top-10 finish in 19 starts in the Farmers Insurance Open.
Woods’ next chance to set the all-time tour victory mark of 83 comes next at the Genesis Invitational in three weeks.
Tiger’s company
Tom Hoge’s lone professional win was in 2011 at the Canadian Tour’s Players Cup. The 30-year-old from Fargo, N.D., pocketed his first top-3 finish on the PGA Tour in 2018 and a second-place showing in September at The Greenbrier before Saturday’s 67 thrust him into the limelight in Tiger Woods’ grouping for Sunday’s final round.
Good thing Hoge had been there before.
“Luckily, I’ve had one experience, my rookie year on tour, where I played with Tiger,” Hoge said, “so I kind of knew what to expect a little bit getting in there. But it’s always fun being in this environment and having all the people out here. It’s what you want to do on Sunday.”
The limelight didn’t faze Hoge one bit.
He birdied his second and third holes to settle into an eventual 4-under 68 round that bested both Woods (70) and the third in their group, J.B. Holmes (73). Hoge shot 11 under for the tournament to land in solo fifth, his best showing in five starts at Torrey Pines.
“It was an exciting day, for sure, being there with Tiger and all the craziness out there,” said Hoge, who finished in a tie for 12th here in 2018 and missed the weekend in three other starts. “A couple of nice putts early kind of settled me down and got me going out there and played pretty well.”
Locals watch
Charley Hoffman was right at home on Torrey Pines South on Sunday.
The 43-year-old San Diegan fired a bogey-free 65 — tying Leishman for the best round of the day — and he charged from tied for 50th into a tie for ninth. Hoffman birdied seven of his last 10 holes, including four of his last five.
It was Hoffman’s best finish in his hometown tournament since tying for seventh in 2014.
San Diego State product J.J. Spaun shot 69 and finished 5 under and tied for 30th.
Pat Perez doubled his opening hole en route to a 74 and tie for 55th. Jamie Lovemark also scored 74 and dropped into a tie for 36th.
